Chapter 1 - Second Chance

"All ends are beginnings."

Amity Park outskirts, early January, winter, 2015

A young man, clothed with a white hoodie with a red interior in the hood which was down covering part of his upper face.

Most likely 17 years in age based on his appearance, holding two black metal knives which were connected to a pair of gauntlets, one on each lower arm and his face was pouring sweat.

Several men in security uniforms wielding shock batons and guns continued to assault the boy with their batons, ignoring the fact they had guns likely for capture purposes but their patience seemed to be dropping fast as the boy drove one of his blades into their comrade's heart, killing him instantly.

The boy continued to sweat as he held drove both knives into the heads of two guards as a sharp and sudden pain sent him falling into the ground, a wet and warm feeling in the otherwise cold winter snow he was now laying in was felt in his back, and his heart as he realized one of the men he fought lost his cool and offed him there and then.

It was ending, his sight blurring and he was loosing feeling, slowly going numb as he painfully uttered "Damnit.." just before life left his body, eyes still open.

Vision came to him, the cold felt welcome for some reason as he stared at his own corpse from the air, unseen by the other guards and eyes more fixed on his own seemingly lifeless body. His genetics had to be intact somehow as he tapped into a sixth sense he had from birth, seeing the guards in red and his own lifeless body simply as the blue haze background, being inanimate and lifeless. Anger overcame him as he shouted "This is not the end, I am Raymond Zenji, a Master Assassin!"

The voice echoed and the guards heard him but did not see him, Ray noticed this and with powers he knew only through instinct and rage, possessed his lifeless body and got up as the guard who shot him fired the whole clip into the reanimated body to no success as Ray charged and stabbed the guard, turning to the others who all drew their guns and fired in vain. Pain seared as he was connected to his old body's nerves but he continued his assault, slaughtering all present with no problems.

He suddenly felt weak and his body dropped and he looked at his hands, pale white as if he were dead. He flew up and was shocked at his newfound powers and took one last look at his lifeless body whilst saying to himself "I need answers."

"And you shall have them." a voice uttered as he turned to see what seemed to be a ghostly image of an old man who suddenly appeared as a child, then a middle aged man before cycling back to the elderly and repeating in that order seemingly at random times.

He introduced himself saying "I am Clockwork, I usually let new ghosts learn the truth on their own but you are a special case. You died, you are a ghost now. You can fly, possess and have other powers you have yet to uncover. You however need to learn there are certain rules and restrictions that apply to you now. Because you have just died you have 30 minutes of leeway to do whatever you wish but after that a ghost of law and order shall watch your every move for the following week before moving onto the next person who dies." The boy chuckled and said "Rules can be broken if you have the strength and willpower. If they seem fair I shall abide them but if there is no justice in them then I shall ignore them. My people have a saying, Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

Clockwork replied "What you do is your own decision, the consequences are yours to endure. Know that I observe time differently than you, I see the past, present and future simultaneously and may intervene and change them as I see fit should I desire it. Know also that my intentions are for you to prevent an evil greater than your human enemies the Templars from destroying the Earth in a burning rage. There are three you must meet, three you must decide the fate of."

Ray raised an eyebrow and replied "This is difficult to take in but then again I'm flying, took over a dead body, my dead body to be exact and you seem to be unable to stay in one form or another." Clockwork gave a slight smile as he replied "An involuntary action that suits my nature of being disconnected from linear perception of time. I will not task you bit by bit but will tell you the three names. Once you have met and spoken with them you are free to do as you see fit. Two are like you, dead souls who refused to accept their ends and the third is half human and half ghost, he is younger than the others though also quite strong, I would say he is a match for you and the others."

Ray replied "What good can I do if the third cannot see me? Regardless, tell me their names and where they are. Once I deal with this I have unfinished business to attend here, if it makes me a ghost enemy then so be it, I shall not abandon my brothers even in death." Clockwork grinned and said "No I do not believe you will abandon them. The first you should see is a man who died in an Eden Complex, he was once one of your comrades. His name is Desmond Miles and I implore you to help him accept his death. The second is a woman who died when she was your age, her name is Ember McLain and I implore you to control her rage which shall soon be set loose upon the small town of Amity Park, if this comes to pass all who live there shall perish in flame. The Third is Danny Fenton who goes by the alter ego Danny Phantom to conceal his ghost half from his parents who are ironically ghost hunters and would probably not react well to his secret. I implore you to train him in the ways of your people as while you would be from ghost law prohibited from aiding the Assassins without incurring Walker's wrath, Danny could do so in any way he sees fit without violating any laws, he is not the first living-unliving hybrid to be about and nor is his adversary though that is rather unimportant at the moment."

Ray sighed and replied "I know of Desmond, If he decides to accept his death then so be it. As for this Ember if I cannot control the flames of her wrath I shall extinguish them and give her final rest. If this Danny Fenton wishes to commit himself to the Brotherhood than I shall become his mentor but he was not born into the order and so it must be his choice alone, not mine or yours."

Clockwork smiled and disappeared but seemingly left Ray with a gift, knowledge on how to use his base ghost abilities in full such as intangibility, possession and flight.

Clockwork's Lair, A place where time has no meaning

Clockwork returned and surged more power into what appeared to be a cylindrical object when he noticed it shook slightly. A voice came from it saying "One day you will forget to reinforce the barrier and then I shall be free!" Clockwork simply retorts "Forgetfulness never befalls me, it is not in my nature but it is in your nature to remain trapped in there oblivious to the world outside your prison in which you shall remain either for eternity or until Danny is set right. Granted there are many paths he could still take but I have opened the door for one in which you do not exist, if it comes to pass and the odds are high, you shall never have existed and would not need to worry as you would not be around to worry."

Appearing before him are two other ghosts which seem to be large eyeballs, identified as the Observants. One then said "And yet you also invite another evil to take Danny's place should your scheme fail. If McLain does indeed get enough power as she desires she will lay waste to all human institutions and governments, the result will be anarchy and war, a dark age for the world and human resentment to ghosts will become unsalvageable which will then most likely provoke a war in the ghost zone between those who shall die in the final fire and those who have resided for millennia."

Clockwork faces a mirror opposite in direction of the Observants and says "True, Ember may be past the point of retribution after what happened to her just after her death but at the same time I believe that Assassin can turn the tables and prevent her rage from becoming so. Always remember that you see time differently than I. I shan't spoil the ending of the book but I shall say that my plan will work." The Second Observant then said "Then it is your responsibility to oversee it does work. Remember your place clockwork, you are to be neutral, neither favoring Light nor Dark. You are merely to ensure that there is a place for ghosts to live in. You created this place but you refuse to sustain it." Clockwork replied "I have not lacked in my duties of sustaining it, I focus on aspects of time and nothing else. And you both are well aware I am only one of the five founders. Were it not for my powers the dead would have no second chances at redemption before God."

With that the observants disappeared.

Ray's POV, Amity Park City Hall

Ray sighed, having learned to mask himself in human form, the one thing he cannot mask however is his body temperature, always being room temperature and lacking red blood forces him to hypmotize every doctor who runs a check on him. He threw his corpse into deep space and reported merely a delay in his arrival to Amity Park. His target will have to wait, he is a man of his word and intends to repay Clockwork's kindness for showing him that which is happening. To the world he never died which also means both Abstergo and the Assassins believe he is still living. This Walker Clockwork spoke of has yet to appear though Ray can still feel a spying presence. Only paying a visit to City Hall to confirm his target is still Mayor of Amity Park. Clockwork also gave him another knowledge, of how to find these three. So for now the thoughts in Ray's mind are "Ember and Danny are the closest, I'll deal with them first, then I'll find Desmond. After that though, nothing will stop my blade from taking Vlad Masters' life. He, being one of the major shareholders in Abstergo Industries and also a Templar from childhood must die so others may have freedom. I work in the dark to serve the light, I am an Assassin."

To be continued...